World Bank approves $95m credit for Nigeria’s final push to eradicate polio

The World Bank announced July 12, 2012 that its Board has approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $95 million for the Nigeria Polio Eradication Support Project.

The credit will help Nigeria to achieve and sustain at least 80% polio immunization across all states, supporting the eventual eradication of the disease from that country.

The project will finance roughly 655 million doses of oral polio vaccine for children under age five across Nigeria, with a special focus on the northern states where polio is more prevalent, says the World Bank which has worked with the country’s National Primary Health Care Agency since 2003 to ensure timely vaccine supply.

Nigeria, in recent years, has seen its number of polio cases falling from 1,100 in 2006 to 62 in 2011. It is one of the last three countries in the world where polio is endemic, the others being Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have beaten back the disease to a large extent already, and with the support of our partners, we are gearing up to make the last big push,” said Dr. Mohamed Pate, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Chairman of Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication.

By Ekow Quandzie